A Deal's A Deal
by ThirteenStrikes
Summary: Sequel to "I DON'T SMOKE". Will Wanda really go on a date with John as she promised? Obviously & unquestionably JONDA.


Sequel to "I DON'T SMOKE". Jonda, Jonda, and nothing but Jonda.  
Disclaimer: You know I don't own the characters.

* * *

"A Deal's A Deal"

It was one of the most boring Saturdays a person could ever have. It was so indescribably uneventful that it was almost depressing.

Well, at least for the Scarlet Witch.

Like all the other monotonous Saturdays, she woke up in the afternoon, got dressed, and headed downstairs to find four nimrods staring blankly at the little television in the center of the cramped living room. Again, they were watching some random movie that they'd seen a million times already. Pietro murmured something barely audible about rotten cheese and cereal in the cupboard when Wanda passed by. She just rolled her eyes at them and continued to the kitchen to find something to eat. With a small yawn, she opened the refrigerator and examined its contents: a pizza from yesterday's "dinner", a fourth of a jar of peanut butter, and an opened carton of milk.

_Amazing. We actually have something in our fridge._ she thought considerately, since usually there was no food in it, with nothing more than a few empty tupperwares with moss beginning to grow in them. They actually had something edible this time.

She took the carton of milk and kicked the fridge door shut. Then she grabbed a bowl and a spoon, and took out a box of cereal from the cupboard.

Though she wasn't really a big fan of eating wet, soggy, almost-expired cereal for brunch, she didn't have much of a choice. All of them were too lazy to go all the way to the supermarket to replenish their food supply, as well as too lazy to cook. It's not that they didn't have enough money to buy food. It's just that they really couldn't care less, and they'd very much prefer ordering fast food delivery. To be honest, the living conditions of the Brotherhood were getting worse and worse.

Wanda sat at the dusty round table in the kitchen, spooning her cereal around and playing with it rather than eating. There were times when she'd brainstorm on a way for her to obtain food that was actually healthy and wouldn't poison you. She had considered getting a job. Really. She did. That way, she could earn enough money to go out and eat at nice restaurants that serve perfectly safe, edible food. Pietro would give her one or two dollars sometimes, but that couldn't get her much. She knew she couldn't ask him for more money, because it was obvious that he wouldn't give away his hard-earned salary from working three jobs at once so easily. Some time ago, she had actually considered joining the X-men. But that was once only. She heard too much of the Danger Room sessions from Rogue and Kitty to be able to sacrifice herself just to get free food.

Absorbed in her thoughts, Wanda stared blankly at the bowl of cereal in front of her. She'd barely noticed when Fred stomped into the kitchen even.

"What's that?" he asked her, eyeing the bowl she had in her hands.

Wanda looked at him for a while, then looked at her 'brunch'. "It's cereal. Here, you can have it," she offered him.

Fred observed her keenly as she pushed the bowl into his hands, and quickly left the kitchen without another word.

Wanda tried her best to ignore the growling in her stomach as she stomped up the stairs and headed back into her bedroom. Wearily, she fell back on her bed and hexed the door close.

She lied there idle for a moment, resting her body. She knew sleeping too much could cause back pain, but of course she didn't give a damn. She shut her eyes for a while and let her mind drift.

But just before she found peace in lying down, the grumbling from her stomach came again. She snapped open her eyes and gazed at the clock on her bedside table. 12:53.

_Oh that's just great._ she thought in the most bitter type of sarcasm she could muster.

What the hell could she do? Go out and eat? She wasn't welcoming that idea a bit. Going out means interacting with people, and usually, she cannot last an hour without injuring someone.

_Do I even have enough money?_

The growling in her stomach wouldn't stop. Wanda sat up from her bed slowly with a frown on her face.

_I need to clear my mind._

Without thinking twice, she stood up, went to her closet to grab a towel and a few of her other clothes, and made her way to the bathroom. Once inside, she hexed and double-hexed the bathroom door in case someone decides to butt in without knocking (especially Toad). Just thinking of him made her shiver with disgust.

She took off her clothes as she forced the horrible thoughts out of her head. Then, she got ready to take a very long shower.

* * *

Nobody could be as excited and cheerful as John was that day. It was as if no negative thoughts, not even a slight notion, could worry him. It was 3 pm and our favorite pyromaniac was already preparing for a certain special, upcoming event in the evening.

He had been thinking about it the whole day, ever since he had woken up and remembered that it was Saturday. He almost couldn't concentrate at work. Sure his boss called to see him a few times, but it didn't matter to him; not one bit.

"Whot in th' world should I wear?!" he asked himself as he impatiently scoured his closet for something decent and presentable. Clothes were littered all over his room – on the floor…on the bed…on his desk…

It was a really big night for him, and his image was one of his major concerns. Nobody would like a messy and sloppy guy. Of all things, he knew the dos and don'ts of dating the best. It was not exactly out of personal experience though… He may seem to be very open, but to tell the truth, he has never had a formal 'successful' date with anyone. He had tried in the past, but it always led to failure, no matter what. (Once, he accidentally set his date's hair on fire, but that's to be talked about at another time…) As talkative as he seemed to be when with Remy or Piotr, he can be quite reserved at times. You could say he picked up a few tips and hints from the charismatic Cajun himself, but it'd be more appropriate to mention that John had read enough romance novels to know exactly what the opposite gender expects from _them_. Though not entirely confident, he knew how to decipher and discern a few of the many complicated behaviors of the mystery known as women.

After several more minutes of throwing clothing out of his closet, John ended up with a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and a neat polo neck, buttoned shirt.

"Not exactly perfect, but I guess this'll do fer now…" he said with a slight pout as he laid the chosen clothes on his bed and began picking up the rest that were strewn all over his room. He was humming a random and repetitive tune in his head, barely able to contain his excitement.

All of a sudden, it occurred to him that he hadn't thought of the place they were going to eat yet.

"Blimey! I've got ta make a reservation!" he exclaimed when the thought hit him. He ran for the phone and almost tripped on his way.

It's a definitely a wonder – the things he'd go through for a certain Scarlet Witch.

* * *

Only when the sky changed from light to dark did the members of the Brotherhood notice that evening had come. The household became too dark to see anything, and everyone realized they had to switch on all the lights – which nobody ever offered to do.

"Wandaaa!" the usual, familiar voice called out.

The person being beckoned was up in her room, the only lit place in the house, sitting peacefully on her bed reading an old novel. She made no effort whatsoever to move or even respond to her twin.

"Please Wanda?! You don't even have to lift a finger!" she heard the same whiny voice from downstairs.

She deliberately ignored him, and three seconds later, she expectantly heard her bedroom door slam open. Pietro stood there and glared at her disapprovingly. Wanda didn't even look up at her brother; she simply turned the page of her book and continued to read.

Pietro knew she was trying his patience.

"Fine! _I'll_ do it," he sighed, giving into his bossy and thoughtless sister.

In less than a split second, he left as fast as he came, and soon all the lights in the house were turned on 'manually' (if you could call it that).

_People are getting lazier and lazier these days._ Wanda thought to herself with amusement, totally aware that it included herself.

She diverted her eyes to the clock on her bedside table. 6:46. Folding the corner of the page she had stopped reading, she put away the book and got up from her bed. With a small yawn, she stretched and loosened her body.

_Been reading for way too long… _she thought with a slight hint of regret, now that her back was aching from the position she sat in.

As if knowing what thought would come next, her poor empty stomach grumbled signally. It was then did she realize she hadn't eaten anything the whole day. With a sigh she left her room and headed downstairs to see what the boys were up to.

She found Lance and Todd playing cards, while Fred and Pietro watched TV. As soon as she entered the living room, she received glances from all of them: a bored one from Lance, a sick romantic gaze from Toad, a curious look from Fred, and a 'will-you-ever-stop-being-so-bitchy' stare from her brother – all of which she took in without the least care.

"Are we going to eat anything for dinner, or are we just gonna starve to death here?" she asked all of them expectantly.

All of the guys looked at each other with clueless expressions on their faces.

"Well, we can always order fast-food…" said Lance, looking up from his cards.

"No-duh! We've-been-ordering-fast-food-for-the-past-few-weeks!" snapped Pietro. "Sis, it's-either-that-or-we-buy-stuff-from-the-supermarket-and-cook-ourselves." He was obviously still mad at Wanda for being so lazy and not helping out by hexing on the lights.

"Can't we?" asked Wanda, slightly angered at her brother's attitude.

"Do-you-think-any-one-of-us-knows-how-to-cook?!" he asked impatiently, turning away from the dull television show he was watching and glaring at her. "And-it-takes-so-much-time. Ordering-fast-food's-quicker."

Fred was about to say something, but he watched himself and held his tongue, knowing that it was dangerous to come between the two angry Maximoff twins.

"Well, don't you ever get tired of eating the same junk everyday?!" snapped Wanda.

"Well-if-_you_-are-tired,-cook-for-us-then!" replied Pietro crossly, turning away from her, as if to end their conversation.

Wanda glared daggers to the back of his head. She hadn't eaten anything the whole day. And she hadn't eaten anything decent in the past month. She was getting tired. But she really couldn't do much about it, and it was making her very _very_ angry.

Wanda's hands glowed blue and she was about to make the TV explode, when suddenly, there was a knock on their door.

Everyone jumped in surprise. Nobody ever came to their house at this time in the evening; except once when the police caught Toad stealing from a shop and followed him.

"Probably-some-idiot-salesman-trying-to-advertise-his-brand-new-hairspray-or-shower-curtain-or-some-shit-like-that," growled Pietro irritably.

They all watched as he left the room in a blur and went to open the front door.

* * *

"Pyro?!"

"'Ello mate," greeted John cheerfully when Pietro opened the door.

"What-the-hell-are-you-doing-here??" he demanded with disbelief. He looked him up and down with sharp eyes.

"I'm lookin' fer your sister," he replied, with a grin he couldn't hold back.

Pietro stared at him long and hard. Then, the thought hit him. He rapidly remembered the last time they encountered John at the mall. Without hesitation, he slammed the door at his face.

"Hey!!" shouted John angrily. He pounded on the door forcefully several times.

He heard voices from inside that sounded like an argument of some sort, and a few moments later, the door opened again. This time, it wasn't the hot-tempered Quicksilver – it was his twin sister.

John smiled when he saw her. It seemed to him as if he hadn't seen her in a long time.

Her appearance always seemed to surprise him. No matter how he'd tried to memorize her features and how many times he'd think of her in his head, or form her figure with the flames from his lighter, she'd still stun him; especially her clear and striking blue eyes.

_Her beautiful eyes…_

"'Ello sheila," he said softly, gazing at her.

Wanda's heart skipped a beat as she stared at him with slight confusion. She was obviously not expecting his visit. But she managed to watch herself and quickly hardened her gaze, setting her guard on.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she asked, clearly puzzled and deep in thought.

John sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. "Whot is it with you twins?! Is that the catchphrase of the week or sumthin'??"

Wanda didn't say anything and continued to look at him, still perplexed. Suddenly, she felt a gush of wind at her side and soon found Pietro standing right next to her.

"You're-an-idiot-for-coming-here. Do-you-want-to-get-yourself-killed-or-something?? Wanda-will-never-go-out-with-you!" he said with annoyance.

Wanda had taken this slight break as an opportunity to absorb John's features: his wild spiky hair, his strong build, his handsome and defined face…

"Wait, what??" she interrupted as she snapped out of her trance. She managed to catch the last part of what her brother had said.

That was when she remembered everything; of their encounter at the mall…their bet…her losing the bet…

_Oh shit… _she thought regretfully.

A blush involuntarily crept up to her face as she recalled the events of that day.

_Stupid…stupid…John. Stupid…bet…_

She was so deep in thought that she hadn't noticed the rest of the Brotherhood guys appearing behind her.

"Dude, you're just wasting your time," said Lance in a warning tone, even though he was slightly amused at the fact that the scary, anti-social Wanda had a date.

"Yeah! She's only in love with me, yo!" said Toad as he poked John's chest, as if telling him to back off.

Hearing what he said, Wanda scowled and immediately hexed him to the back of the house.

John was totally confused and slightly angered at the behavior of the Brotherhood guys. This was none of their business! He only came for Wanda and nobody else. And the way they were discouraging him!

"Sheila…a deal's a deal," he told her, ever so tentatively, yet eagerly.

All of the guys looked at her with questioning eyes, even Todd, who had somehow managed to make his way back to the front of the house. Wanda slowly felt the pressure of their presence, and felt very indecisive of what she should do with the situation she got herself into.

"Umm…." she murmured as a billion thoughts flooded her head at once.

"Pyro-do-us-a-favor-and-leave-us-alone!" said Pietro, his patience running thin. He certainly wasn't in the mood for dealing with guys who were interested in his insane sister.

"Yo! You think you can just come and pick up my woman?" said Toad crossly, shaking a fist at John's face.

But before Wanda could say anything or hex him again, John replied hotly, "And who said she's _your_ sheila?"

He tried to hold back his temper as he pushed Toad aside and stepped towards Wanda; stepping almost _too_ close for comfort.

"Wanda…C'mon. You promised…" he pleaded softly, looking into her eyes.

She shouldn't have let him done that. The instant she looked at him she unconsciously knew she had lost, and that even her cold heart wouldn't allow for her to refuse him.

"Yo! She'd rather stay here with us than go out with a freak like you!" said Toad as offensive as he possible could. He just wouldn't give up.

John and Wanda immediately considered what he said with utmost interest and thought, and a brief glance between them indicated that a very reasonable conclusion was made.

"Actually…" started Wanda as-a-matter-of-factly. "I'd rather go with him than rot here..."

She had thought it through carefully, and the choice of going with John seemed to overflow with advantages and benefits. Of course it was much better than staying with the guys and eating cheap fast-food for dinner. She was freakin' starving to death.

(And besides…although she'd never ever admit it aloud…she kinda liked him…)

As soon as John heard her decision, he smiled, almost triumphantly. Toad and Pietro stared at Wanda with shock and confusion. But before they had time to make any protests, Wanda had put on her coat and quickly stepped outside. She hexed the door shut, in case Pietro would snap out of it sooner that expected and drag her back inside or anything like that.

As John opened the door of the passenger seat of his car for her, she rolled her eyes at the goofy grin planted on his face.

"Don't get too confident, fire boy."

John only grinned wider as he got in the driver's side. He swiftly started the car and drove away from the Brotherhood's house. (A part of him wanted to get away from Pietro as quick as possible.)

* * *

"Where are we going…?" asked Wanda curiously. She couldn't help but feel a little shy. She'd never gone on a date before…and all of these feelings he gave her were somewhat new and unprecedented.

"You'll find out soon enough, sheila," he replied with a smile.

Wanda frowned. "Stop calling me that," she snapped. She was just finding an excuse to get mad at him really.

"Can't ya excuse the accent? I can't 'elp it," he told her honestly.

The Scarlet Witch only crossed her arms and let her eyes explore John's car. There was a little drawer below the radio, which was jammed full of lighters.

_How typical of him…_ she mused.

She continued to look around. It was a fairly new-looking car, to be honest. It rather surprised her.

_Where does he get the money? _she asked herself. It doesn't seem like a very inexpensive-looking vehicle. But she didn't ask aloud.

They stopped shortly at a red-light. There was an awkward silence between them, and John felt like he needed to say something. It was something he knew he should apologize for.

"…I'm sorry…about the other day…" he spoke up so quietly that Wanda looked up at him with questioning eyes.

"Ya know…I was just foolin' around…" he said without looking at her.

As much as she wanted to forget it, Wanda knew he meant the kiss. She coloured a bit and looked out the window as an excuse to turn away.

"…Uh…whatever… Just……don't do it again..." she said in a tone that made her want to slap herself.

John looked at her funny, with a slight hint of fondness and amusement in his eyes. Yes, he couldn't prevent himself from admitting it; he was very much in love with her.

He had almost forgotten that he was driving. He had barely realized that somebody's car behind him was flicking the signal lights and beeping loudly.

"John," called Wanda alertly. "John, the light turned green minutes ago…"

"Oh, right…" He finally snapped out of it and accelerated the car.

Wanda simply rolled her eyes and sighed.

* * *

Several minutes later, they stopped and parked at the side of a narrow street. John brought Wanda into a nice and quiet little restaurant that wasn't really crowded. He somehow knew she wouldn't like it if they went somewhere that was packed. It was a dimly lit Italian restaurant with only room for several customers. A kind waiter showed them to a table at the corner of the room.

Wanda was quite surprised at John's choice of bringing her to a place like this; definitely surprised at how suitable it was and how comfortable she felt.

They quietly ordered their food and watched as the waiter disappeared to the kitchen.

They sat in silence for a while, looking around as if to take in every single detail of the little restaurant. Never in his life, after so many visits, had John found the antique clock hanging on the brick wall so intriguing. And never had Wanda been so absorbed in a flickering flame of a small candle placed in the middle of their table.

Anyone who saw the scene would've known that they were dating for the very first time. And yet, anyone would've immediately seen the affection in his eyes as he stole glances at her…and the slight denial of fondness growing in hers as she stole glances at him. Anyone would've seen that they were very much in love…

The waiter, who had previously returned from the kitchen, obviously saw the awkwardness between the couple and tried to help.

"Would you like some wine, sir?" he asked. Perhaps talking a bit would bring him out of his taciturn state.

John looked up at the waiter, slightly surprised at the sudden question.

"Um…no thank you, I'm drivin'," he replied politely.

The waiter nodded and left to attend to the other customers.

"Wow, you seem careful," remarked Wanda with slight sarcasm, which didn't go unnoticed.

"Why? I don' seem the careful type?" asked John, smirking a bit.

"Hmm…not really…" she said, taking a good look at him. Then her eyes dropped to a figure of a galloping horse formed with fire, which John had unconsciously fiddled around with. She watched as it shifted into random shapes, from an eagle to a steam locomotive going around in circles. Judging by the smile on his face, John seemed pretty amused with his work. And though she'd forced herself not to get affected so easily by him, she couldn't help enjoying his company.

She couldn't even hold back a smile when he almost set the tablecloth on fire.

"John…you really shouldn't be playing with fire," she told him, watching him cover the scorched bit of the tablecloth with his glass.

"Sheila, not playin' with fire is like me cuttin' me head off," he informed her in an all too serious tone. She was expecting that type of reply.

She rolled her eyes and blew out the flame on the candle wick.

"Hey! What'dya do that fer?" he asked irritably.

"For keeping this place from burning up," she told him. However, she didn't tell him the real reason was just to annoy him.

"Fire's a beautiful thing, especially when you can control it," he said with pride as he re-lit the candle. "This 'ere is only a lil' flame. It'd take an _inferno_ to burn this house down!"

And both of them knew very well who was capable of turning the 'lil' flame' into an 'inferno'. Wanda observed as he began to chuckle uncontrollably, and watched the way his eyes lit up when he talked about anything related to fire.

_Of course. What else would you expect from a pyromaniac. _she thought to herself.

If somebody passed by and saw John, they'd think he was crazy. But he wouldn't have given a damn about them. He seemed to be enjoying himself, and to him, that's all that mattered.

_I guess I like him that way... I guess… I guess I like __him__._

Wanda almost couldn't believe what she was thinking. She couldn't stop herself either…and it was annoying the heck out of her.

She couldn't believe she was falling for this crazy pyromaniac.

Involuntarily, when her eyes wandered again, they stopped at his lips.

She knew what her mind was going to think as soon as it happened. Luckily, before her imagination got the best of her, their food came. They ate quietly, and once again, the awkward silence was present. It was sort of funny…how they focused so much on their food and nothing else; not even each other. They were definitely avoiding conversation, in case they'd say anything stupid and embarrass themselves..

Soon, John took a risk and decided to look up at Wanda to see if she was alright. Feeling eyes on her, she looked up as well. She saw amusement in his eyes, and tried her best to keep herself from smiling.

"What??" she asked, trying to sound annoyed.

John returned her smile with a grin. "Nothin'."

They continued eating in silence. But didn't feel as awkward as before. Now, it was more of a…comfortable silence.

When they were done, John asked for the check.

Wanda immediately looked up. She hadn't even given it the least thought.

When the waiter came back with the check, John took out his wallet and carefully counted his money.

Wanda watched him warily. She felt that he really shouldn't have to pay for her, but she couldn't stop him because she had no money on her at the moment.

"John…" she started hesitantly. "Um….I'll pay you back later. I don't have money with me right now…."

The Aussie laughed. He gave the waiter enough money and stood up.

"Sheila, don't worry 'bout a thing. It's on me," he told her with another crazy grin of his. He helped her out of her seat. "C'mon."

As they walked out together, John whispered as softly as he could, "Maybe I'll let you pay the next time."

He didn't mean for her to hear. When she didn't reply, he guessed she didn't. But what he didn't know was that she _did_ hear – she just couldn't think of a response, and so, pretended not to hear.

_The next time…? The next time we go on a date together? Will we?_

* * *

The drive back to the Brotherhood's house was just as quiet as the one to the restaurant. In the middle of their trip, it had started to rain. The only sounds heard were the desultory pattering of raindrops on the car, and rhythmic swishing of the windshield wiper.

Wanda watched the droplets of rain as they slid down the windows. It was something she always liked to do, however aimless it may be. She liked how looking a single droplet would appear as if there is a little picture in it; a smaller version of what you see outside the window. But just as she was enjoying the sight, the car slowed down into a stop. It was kind of disappointing – how car rides going home always seem to be so much faster.

It wasn't raining that hard when they got out of the car and walked toward the house. It wasn't a very long way to the front door. Both of them stepped on the porch, sheltered from the rain, and faced each other.

Wanda didn't know why John had to follow her out of the car. She didn't know why he had insisted to send her off like this. And she didn't know why she stood out there with him and didn't get in the house yet.

She almost didn't know what was happening when she kissed him.

It was a sudden impulse. She didn't know what she was thinking… Perhaps she wasn't even thinking at all… It didn't matter. She still did it anyway.

He didn't draw back, as surprised as he was. He just did the only thing he could've done; reciprocate and pull her closer.

He had wanted to ask her something. He had wanted to ask if she only went out with him to get away from Toad. He didn't really like that Toad; he was always hitting on Wanda.

She had wanted to tell him something as well. She wanted to thank him for the evening; for paying for dinner and everything. It was really nice of him, and she honestly liked his company.

But they didn't have a chance to say it out loud. They didn't have to, because it didn't matter anymore. A kiss is so much better than words.

When they pulled away from each other, both of them were speechless.

Wanda blushed as she kept her eyes on John's shirt. She felt slightly lightheaded for some reason. She was pretty embarrassed too.

Without lingering any longer, she pushed him away ever so gently.

"Um…..Good night….John…." she managed to speak out, still avoiding his eyes.

She quickly turned away from him and entered the house, closing the door behind her.

John stood out there on the Brotherhood's porch, staring blankly at the door. Then, he smiled.

"G'night Wanda."

* * *

That's it. Nothing much. Just a little oneshot, for the sake of writing a sequel. Hope you liked it. :)


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